


No Amount of Money Ever Bought a Second of Time

by Starjargon



Series: StarkBursts [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Foreshadowing to Tony's own choice, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25068841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starjargon/pseuds/Starjargon
Summary: Tony wants to forgive Howard, but it takes a conversation with Harley before he sees his father in a different light.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Howard Stark & Tony Stark
Series: StarkBursts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815580
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33
Collections: Iron Man Bingo 2019, Ships are fun but so is not Shipping





	No Amount of Money Ever Bought a Second of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Starjargon 3075 Tony Stark Bingo square: It Wasn't Worth It.
> 
> Title from Avengers: Endgame

Tony and Harley were tinkering in Harley’s New and Improved Certainly Exceptional™ Lab, chatting about Science! as they were wont to do, when Harley asked Tony if his dad had taught him all this stuff.

Tony suddenly became very concerned with a laser… _pointer_ as the boy looked at him curiously.

“No,” Tony cleared his throat. “My dad didn’t like me in his lab. He was more interested in finding Captain America and inventing weapons than being a dad or teaching things.”

“Your dad knew Captain America?!” Harley squeaked.

“My dad _made_ Captain America,” Tony corrected, torn between bitterness and getting caught up in Harley’s excitement.

“Really? So, he was around during World War II?” the boy clarified.

“Yup,” Tony confirmed, scrubbing a hand down his face.

“I guess your dad did like making weapons,” Harley remarked pensively.

”Steve’s not like that. Not really,” Tony concedes. “Besides, my dad quit the weapons business for a while, wanted to create flying cars and a world of tomorrow. Guns just became more profitable. The older I got, the more he branched out into bigger and more efficient ways to kill people.”

“You call _Captain America_ Steve,” Harley was laughing at him in delight.

“Yeah, well, fighting aliens together really bonds people.”

“I’ll say,” he calms down, still grinning. Then he continues connecting the circuits Tony had arranged for him. “My mom says she hates to work so much but knows it’s how me and my sister eat and stuff, so that makes it worth it. Must’ve been like that for your dad, too.”

Tony raises an eyebrow at the delusional kid.

“I mean-“ Harley continues quickly, “when my dad left, my mom got more and more busy working and trying to keep the house and stuff. Didn’t want us to miss out on having anything, even if it means missing _her_. She tries, but…” he shrugs, still staring down with Tony’s attention fully on him. “I figure, your dad sees you, after living through at least two wars, and he knows he wasn’t even able to protect _Captain America?_ No wonder he didn’t have time to be a dad. He was probably so busy making sure he could win any war you would have to live through. And probably forgot about you like... Anyway, at least you found _Steve_ in the end, right? The Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” he starts cheering, making Tony crack a smile as he starts chasing the kid around the workshop, their tinkering devolving into an impromptu game of childish jokes and tag, just like it always inevitably does when Tony visits.

A few years later in the past, Tony meets a Howard Stark who is heading home, leaving his work at the office as he tells Tony there is nothing he wouldn’t do for his child, and Tony sees a yet another nervous parent, terrified their child’s world won’t be any better than his own, willing to make any sacrifice to keep his kid safe.

And he understands.

**Author's Note:**

> Background- I had a workaholic father, and it took a very long time to realise the way HE tried to show me his love was working toward creating a legacy to leave me, even if he never realised that's not what I wanted most.


End file.
